Polite Dissent

The storyline starts with the enigmatic Barter weaseling some information out of the Lord of Chaos Child. He’s trying to find out more about Hawk and Dove and how they tie into Order and Chaos.

Meanwhile, the Grangers are hosting a housewarming party. Dawn and her mother are out shopping for party supplies when they are accosted by a disheveled young woman. She seems obsessed with a blue pin that Mrs. Granger is wearing and manages to follow the pair home. Waiting until the party has started, she breaks into the house and starts searching through Mrs. Granger’s dresser. She finds the pin and it transforms her nto Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god (or in this case, goddess) of war.

At first, Dove battles Huitzilopochtli alone. The goddess is a tough combatant; in addition to enhanced strength and agility, she can fly and has the ability to transform ordinary objects into Aztec weapons and artifacts. For example, a letter opener becomes a knife, a lamp becomes a spear, and a dresser becomes a heavy carved stone. Dove and Huitzilopochtli crash through the wall of the Granger’s house and take the battle to the street. Dove is injured preventing a heavy stone block (that was once a car) from crashing into innocent bystanders.

The Washington SCU arrives but they have no more success than Dove. Hawk finally appears and takes out Huitzilopochtli by swatting her with a telephone pole. She’s only stunned and manages to subdue Hawk when he’s not paying attention. Dove tackles the goddess, pushing Hawk out of the way, allowing the SCU to open up with a barrage of heavy artillery. Huitzilopochtli is down, but not out. She grabs the SCU medic and flies off into the night.

Hawk and Dove track Huitzilopochtli and her hostage to the Washington Monument. The pair climbs up the monument and catch Huitzilopochtli by surprise before she can sacrifice the medic. Hawk throws the Aztec goddess off the Monument, but then Dove takes up the battle while Hawk rescues the hostage. This may seem backwards at first, but the fight is more a battle of wits than power. Dove tricks the goddess into giving up her powers and the SCU takes the weakened deity into custody. (But don’t fret, she’ll reappear in the War of the Gods crossover.)

Elsewhere in the story:

• More future plot points are foreshadowed, and they all directly or indirectly involve Donna and Kyle. First, Donna and Kyle tell Dawn that they’re going to set her up with “Brian,” a storyline that continues until the end of the series. Later, Donna mentions an upcoming tennis match with Bette Kane (of Bat-Girl and Flamebird fame) and Kyle receives a mysterious postcard with a hidden message (Though not a very subtle one. See if you can figure it out: Customer, the Rug yoU ordered will be readt nexT montH.).
• Dawn’s father, a top scientist at the Washington branch of S.T.A.R. Labs, is introduced. He will appear in one or two more issues, most notably Annual #1.
• Hank mentions that he has lived in Washington DC his whole life. This is a definite retcon, as previous stories have him growing up in Eldon, Oregon. This change explains what Judge Hall is doing in DC, but doesn’t make much sense when you remember that Hank and Don were members of Titans West, not Titans DC.
• Ren makes a classic appearance, showing up just as Dr. and Mrs. Granger are wondering where Dawn is. She babbles a mostly incoherent story prompting Mrs. Granger to ask: “Who are you?” While Dr. Granger merely states: “You must be Ren.”
• Hank joins the Georgetown wrestling team.
• Issue #3 ends with Donna, Kyle and Ren caught in the middle of bank robbery — a robbery conducted by thieves dressed as Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde.